NFL should be terrified of Patrick Mahomes’ 2025 revenge tour

Patrick Mahomes is widely considered the best player in the NFL, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and arguably the greatest Kansas City Chief of all time. He has led the Chiefs to three Super Bowl titles, five Super Bowl appearances, and seven consecutive AFC Championship Games. He's won MVPs, and his numbers through his first eight seasons (seven as a starter) rival the most prolific passers of all time through as many seasons.

While Mahomes' career numbers and résumé are unbelievable, his numbers over the past two seasons have actually been down by his very high standards. In his first five seasons as a starter, Mahomes averaged just over 4,790 yards per season, 38.4 touchdowns, and 8.1 yards per attempt. Over his past two seasons, he has averaged about 4,055 yards, 26.5 touchdowns, and 6.9 yards per attempt.

Those are numbers that most quarterbacks would be thrilled with, and the Chiefs made the Super Bowl in both of those seasons, but anyone who knows Mahomes' competitive nature knows he isn't happy with that level of production and is going to be itching to return to his prolific ways. The good news for Chiefs fans is that things are lining up for Mahomes and the Chiefs’ passing game to return to elite production in 2025.

The planets are aligning for Patrick Mahomes to go off again in 2025.

While Mahomes would be the first to take responsibility for his drop in play, the truth is that issues at wide receiver and offensive tackle have really hampered what the Chiefs were able to do in the passing game the past two seasons. The Chiefs had to shift from a passing game that would attack every inch of the field to one that had to spread the defense out from sideline to sideline and get the ball out extremely quickly.

That's because the Chiefs didn't have the receivers to win downfield, and the pass protection on the outside wasn't giving him the time to attack downfield even if they did. Because of that, defenses were able to clamp down on the middle of the field to create tighter windows for Mahomes to have to hit on those quick passes. Mix in a mediocre run game, and there just wasn't any danger outside of “Mahomes being Mahomes” in the KC offense.

Fast forward to 2025, and those issues look like they may have finally been addressed. The Chiefs have a trio of wideouts who can attack down the field in Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, and reclamation project Tyquan Thornton.

The Chiefs still have savvy vets like Travis Kelce and JuJu Smith-Schuster who can be sure-handed targets in the short possession game, and guys like Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy (again), and rookie Jalen Royals who can take short passes and break them into big plays. Suddenly the Chiefs have the weapons to attack every inch of the field again.

As far as the offensive line goes, the major hole at left tackle seems to have been masterfully filled by rookie Josh Simmons. Every rookie will likely have some growing pains, but Simmons has already looked like he has the potential to be the best pass-protecting left tackle of Mahomes’ career.

Jawaan Taylor struggled some at right tackle last year but was battling an injury. He's looked better this preseason, and even a slight uptick in pass protection from him may finally give Mahomes confidence in being able to plant and deliver the deep ball again.

Mahomes seems sold on the new offensive line, but the only potential issue could be the pass protection of Kingsley Suamataia at left guard. He played much better against the Bears on Friday, but has had some issues during camp. However, the Chiefs could use Jaylon Moore (their big offseason signing) at left guard if Suamataia has more issues.

Hopefully, Suamataia settles in because he has the physical tools to be an NFL starter. Regardless, the offensive line is looking much better entering the 2025 season than it did at any point last season.

Finally, we all know that Mahomes hears and is motivated by disrespect. He has had to listen to people badmouth his production compared to other top quarterbacks for two straight years. He had to deal with the Super Bowl loss to the Eagles that thwarted his hopes of the NFL's first three-peat and all the trash talk that went with it.

Mahomes has always looked for a chip to put on his shoulder to keep the fire burning. He's a little Michael Jordan-esque in that regard. He will certainly be looking to set the NFL on fire this season, and it appears the Chiefs may have finally given him the supporting cast to make that happen again.

Things are looking up for the Chiefs offense. Fans have plenty of reasons to believe after what we've seen in camp and the preseason. The NFL should be nervous. Mahomes is coming for them in 2025.